


Connie intervenes

by Chromite



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven Universe Future (Cartoon)
Genre: Concerns, Emotions, Fighting, More of a friendship than romantic relationship, Multi, Talking, a few surprises too, forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-19 04:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22338403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromite/pseuds/Chromite
Summary: The Crystal Gems contact Connie about Steven's strange behavior as of late. Connie heads off to find Steven and talk to him. But when she starts seeing and hearing signs of a fight in the forest, her determination to help Steven shifts from emotional support to physical backup. Will she be able to help Steven the way she needs to?
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Jasper/Steven Universe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Connie intervenes

**Author's Note:**

> Some things in real life kept me from writing for a while, but now I'm back at it. Glad to be writing once more, and I hope people can enjoy this little tale.

>It had been a few months since Steven had accidentally created Cactus Steven and since the chaos that had ensued from that. The gems had noticed that Steven was closing himself off more and more, and that he was having more frequent emotional outbursts, including his more dangerous pink outbursts. His outbursts were beginning to get so out of control that they were damaging the beach house. It was with great concern in their minds about how Steven was closing himself off more and more that they placed a call.   
>"We're sorry to bring you all this way, but we don't know what else to do!" Pearl spoke in exasperation. "He won't talk to us, he keeps shutting us out and putting up barriers when we try to get close!"   
>"He's being a real buzzkill. Like, I get it, he has issues and wants to deal with them, but he's not ya know? Steven needs some help and I can't stand to see him acting like this anymore!" Amethyst threw up her hands over her head as seh spoke in exasperation, a mix of concern and frustration on her face.   
>"If anyone can get through to him, it's you Connie." Garnet spoke with a slight waver in her voice. There were so many visions of the future running through her mind, so many things that could go wrong. The best futures she saw were the ones where Connie talked to Steven. It was with this in mind that Garnet had contacted her in the first place. "You're his best friend, and our only hope. Please.....go talk to him before it's too late." A singular tear ran from underneath Garnet's visor, where her central eye would be.   
>Connie looked at the three gems and their distraught faces with concern for a moment, then smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can get through to him! Maybe a little human time and a talk will get him to open up. We're Jam Buds after all."  
>"Be careful. His outbursts have gotten.....powerful. They can damage the area around him. Do what you can, but your safety is important too." Pearl looked at Connie in concern before turning away.  
>"My visions are telling me he's in the woods near Beach City, but I can't see where exactly he is or why he went there. Good luck." Garnet placed her hands on Connie's shoulders as she spoke, looking her directly in the eyes before giving a short nod and removing her hands.   
>"If he's too stubborn, beat some sense into him!" Amethyst punched her left palm and let out a nervous laugh. With the words from the three gems in mind, Connie nodded at them all and left the Beach house and started making her way up the shore and towards the woods.  
>As Connie made her way towards the woods, her mind wandered. "Is Steven really that bad off? Did something happen to make him like the gems say he is? Is it.....is it my fault for not being around more? Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll talk to me. He's got to, right? We're still friends. It'll be-"  
>Connie's thoughts were interrupted as her eyes caught sight of a few trees being tossed into the air, roots and all. Birds were flying away from the woods now in huge flocks, and her body tensed as she caught the sound of a familiar smug laugh, faint but distinctive to her ears. "Is that......Jasper's laugh?" Her eyes widened as something clicked in her mind. "That's why Steven went to the woods, isn't it? Jasper must have said something to him to get him down, or he's worried about her or......or she's terrorizing him from the woods! I've gotta go help him!"  
>Connie picked up her pace, running faster up the beach and into the woods proper. Once she entered the woods, she could hear the echos of the trees cracking, the animals screeching, chirping, howling, and running away, and the faint echoes of Jasper's laughter. As she made her way further into the woods, she started to pick up on Steven's voice too, mere grunts of frustration, but still audible. It sent a chill through her body. "He really is fighting her......I need to hurry, before he gets really hurt!"  
>Connie's sense of dread spiked when the sounds of fighting suddenly stopped along with Jasper's and Steven's voices, the forest growing silent as a result. She pushed herself into a faster run through the trees, her body getting scratched by the low hanging branches as she ran towards where she had heard the fighting going on moments before. "No no no no no! Please let him be okay, please don't let Jasper have won.......or let me not be too late to stop Steven from doing something he might regret if he won. I can't be too late!"  
>Light amounts of blood tricked down Connie's face and arms from her scratches as she broke into a clearing. Around her, rocks and trees were strewn around chaotically, some of the trees were splintered and still in the ground, while others had been entirely uprooted, now resting on their sides or forcefully shoved back into the ground tops first. The sun was shining bright enough for Connie to have to shield her eyes for a moment as they adjusted to the light.   
>Another chill passed through Connie as an unfamiliar voice started to laugh and the light around her started to die down. Her subconscious was already piecing together what was happening, but her conscious was still in denial. Slowly, she unshielded her eyes to look at the clearing properly again.  
>Connie let out a gasp as she spotted a figure standing in the middle of the chaos. The gem's body was a light pink hue, with stripes of orange running along it, small splotches of green fixated along the figure's four thick arms. A familiar gem shape sat on the figure's smiling face below two shining pink eyes. Their light brown hair flowed wild and messy down their back, curling up at the ends into small balls around their waist. From the figure's hair, two large green horns rested, twisting into slight curls above their head. Two powerful legs stood firmly on the ground, small cracks forming under the feet. But most surprising to Connie was the figure's outfit, a mix of two very familiar styles to her. On their legs, a light pink pair of jumpsuit pants rested, covering their legs and feet entirely, turning to a light orange hue as the fabric passed their knees. Upon their torso, a black shirt with a yellow star was stretched to its limit across an ample bosom, powerful abs laying exposed to the air below. Glistening pink sweat beaded on the figures body as it smiled and wrapped its arms around itself.   
>Her voice shook as she whispered out in disbelief. "St-steven? It......it can't be. You.....you fused.....with Jasper?"  
>The fusions focus snapped towards Connie, a mix of happiness, surprise, and annoyance on their face. "Connie! I can't believe you're in Beach City again!" a softer tone spoke, followed by a rougher tone. "What are you doing in the woods runt?"  
>Connie hesitated for a moment. "I.....I came to see Steven. Garnet told me he'd be in the woods, so I.....is everything okay? You're not hurt are you? I swear, if Jasper forced you into this, I'll-"  
>The lighter tone returned. "Woah, woah, calm down! Jasper didn't force me into fusing! It just sorta happens sometimes when we...." the rougher tone returned. "I'd never force someone into something runt! I'm not like that blue brat!"  
>"Okay.....okay, but he's not hurt is he?" Connie remained steadfast in the face of the towering fusion, easily a full half a body larger than Garnet.  
>The lighter tone returned. "I'm fine, I promise!" A rougher chuckle escaped. "Other than the usual scrapes and bruises we both get when we spar."  
>Connie looked at the fusion in disbelief. "You two spar?"  
>"Why are you so surprised?" The fusion punched both of their left palms with their right fists. "He needs an outlet to vent, and I'm all too happy to oblige!" The fusions voice softened once more. "I promise, it's not bad. She's been a huge help to me Connie! I feel like.....I'm starting to get a handle on my.....issues better."  
>Connie hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Do you want to talk about it? Err.....what should I call you while you're like this?"   
>The fusion smiled and spoke in a rougher tone. "We're done for the day anyways. If he wants to talk about it, that's fine. It takes a while for us to calm down enough to unfuse anyways." A softer tone spoke up. "We agreed on the name Bustamite while we're fused. Pretty cool, right?"  
>Connie nodded. "It is pretty cool. Nice to meet you properly Bustamite. It.....it doesn't hurt when you unfuse, right?" Connie's eyes wandered to the green spots that plagued the fusion's orange and pink body.  
>"Oh, well the first time there were some.....take aways, but my healing spit took care of it. It doesn't happen anymore." One of Bustamite's right hands rubbed the back of their head nervously as they chuckled. "Really, it's all okay."  
>Connie and Bustamite spent the next hour talking back and forward, mostly in the lighter tone that came from the Steven half of the fusion, with the occasional snarky remark from the Jasper side. They covered a lot of things, what had been going on lately in Beach City, Steven's feelings about all his friends moving on without him, about his need to feel needed and how much it was affecting him, the incident with Cactus Steven and the Reef, the encounter with Bluebird, and all the times he had gone into his pink mode. Connie made sure to ask a lot of questions and really gauge how Steven was feeling, while answering the questions that were asked of her as well. By the end of the hour, both of them were smiling, and Connie felt like she knew what Steven was feeling.  
>The rougher voice spoke up "I think we've cooled off enough now. Time to unfuse." A brief glow of light enveloped the fusion, splitting into two parts quickly. Steven and Jasper were back to themselves, Steven sitting on the ground while Jasper stood with her back to him and Connie, her arms crossed across her chest.  
>"Thanks Jasper, for letting us talk. See you again soon?" Steven asked casually.  
>"If you want." Jasper replied gruffly before she started to walk away.  
>Connie called out to her. "Hey Jasper?"  
>"What do you want runt?" Jasper turned around and looked at Connie in annoyance.  
>"Thanks for helping Steven out like this. Please, keep helping him. It means a lot to me."  
>Jasper scoffed. "Whatever organic. As long as I get to fight, anything else that happens doesn't matter." With that, Jasper stomped off, a small smile on her face as she disappeared into the trees.   
>"She's really changed, hasn't she?" Connie looked at Steven and spoke as Jasper disappeared into the trees. "She's still rough, but she's got a sweet side."  
>Steven chuckled "Yeah." He turns his full attention towards Connie. "Thanks for coming to see me today Connie. I think I really needed this, someone to vent to with words. You won't tell the gems, will you?"  
>Connie sighed. "I won't, but I think you should talk to them. They're worried about you Steven. At least.....think about it, okay? And give me a call next time you start to feel emotionally overwhelmed, and I'll talk to you to calm you down. Alright Biscuit?"  
>"Pulling a Jam Buds on me? Alright Strawberry, I promise, I'll call you next time I feel overwhelmed and......I'll think about telling the gems how I've been feeling lately."  
>A smile crossed Connie's face. "Thank you. Now, how about we get out of these woods and have a nice meal together?"  
>"That sounds great! But.....I should heal the trees around here first." Steven chuckled nervously.  
>"You want some help with that?" Connie smiled as she offered her hand towards Steven.  
>Steven smiled as he took Connie's hand. "Sure. Thank you."  
>A quick dance later, Connie and Steven had fused together. Stevonnie got to work, swiftly putting trees back in their spots and healing them, restoring to forest to how it was before Steven and Jasper had sparred. When their task was done, Stevonnie unfused, leaving Steven and Connie to walk out of the woods together, hand in hand, free to spend the rest of the day together. Connie resolved to make it a point to check in on Steven more often from now on, while Steven promised himself he'd work on his outbursts more, and find the strength to really talk to the gems about things.


End file.
